


The Dark Artifact

by rarmaster



Category: Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Gen, i'm really into the idea of the these two working together for a while though, this is part of an AU I may never write more than one chapter for lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-29
Updated: 2015-11-29
Packaged: 2018-05-03 21:18:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5307194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rarmaster/pseuds/rarmaster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rosalina and Pittoo finally arrive at their destination, the resting place of a weapon they need to stop the darkness that spreads across their lands. But, something's not right....</p><p>(An AU that's kind of "if Smash 4 had a story mode" and also just largely based on a really cool dream I had. This will probably be the only scene of the AU I ever write, but, we'll see.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dark Artifact

**Author's Note:**

> you should probably read the fic first but if you want some details on this check it out here http://rarmaster.tumblr.com/post/133477563840/i-had-a-really-badass-smash-bro-dream-last-night
> 
> ((you should read the fic first because that post lines out everything that happens in this scene, just, so you know))

Rosalina slowly moved after Pittoo, a dread weighing heavy on her shoulders. The terrain around them was deadly at best, but seeing as she did not need to touch the ground, and Pittoo could fly, neither of them had much to worry about. Rosalina didn’t feel the heat from the lava sea beneath them, but maybe Pittoo did. He wasn’t mentioning it if he was. He hadn’t done much speaking at all since they came here.

This was supposed to be the resting place of the artifact, the weapon they needed to defeat the darkness creeping over the lands. Of course, it made sense that a deadly weapon would be hid somewhere equally deadly, as to prevent just _anyone_ waltzing up and taking it, but…

Rosalina had a bad feeling.

A really bad feeling.

Pittoo leapt from one rock to another, heading towards the pillar at the end of the room. Unlike the rest of this place, which was primarily painted in reds and browns, the pillar was marble, thrusting up out of the lava sea. Something was encased on top of it, glittering. That was, presumably, what they sought. Rosalina floated after him, sending cautious glances at the rippling lava sea below her. They had not defeated the guardian of this place. It had simply allowed them passage when it realized they could not be stopped. That made her even more uneasy than the evil that seemed to hang in the air.

“Here we go,” Pittoo said, landing on the pillar. There was plenty room on top of it for him to stand, along with the artifact. The artifact was suspended in midair, and the sight of it made Rosalina draw in a sharp breath.

It was pretty, she supposed, a silver rapier that glittered from every angle, its hilt encrusted with rubies and large purple gems. Pittoo moved towards it, fixated. Rosalina hung back. She did not dare move any closer to the pillar, or the weapon that it held.

“Pittoo, perhaps we should…” she began.

“Huh? Something wrong, Rosi?” he asked, turning around to her for a second, before his eyes were drawn back to the artifact. She did not blame him for not sensing the evil that lay within it, but surely, he _had_ to see the way it glowed with darkness.

More confident now, Rosalina flew at him, reaching out to pull his hand away from the artifact. “Listen, I do not think—”

There was a deep rumbling sound, and from the lava behind the pillar, a great form rose. Rosalina stumbled back through the air, away from Pittoo, while he raised his hand to shield his face. It was the guardian of this place, a dragon made out of crumbling volcanic rock, its six eyes no more than holes where fire burned, each easily dwarfing Pittoo. Its mouth was big enough to swallow her and Pittoo and a good portion of this pillar without any chewing—it did not even appear to have any teeth.

“Are you sure this is a path you wish to take?” it asked. Rosalina could see a fire burning at the back of its throat, when it opened its mouth wide enough. It did not seem to need to open its mouth very far to speak.

“Uh, duh,” Pittoo replied, haughtily. He cast what was probably his best glare at the guardian, then returned his gaze to the artifact. “We didn’t come this far for nothing, did we, Rosi?”

Rosalina hesitated, then bowed partially towards the guardian, paying it the respect it surely deserved. “Why do you ask?” she said. If she was right about this place, and about the artifact that held Pittoo’s fixation, then she knew why. But best to be sure, and to get Pittoo on the same page.

“I was entrusted the care of this weapon,” the guardian explained, in its low voice that shook the walls with its every word. It spoke slowly, probably because speaking any faster would cause this place to collapse. “I was asked to guard it, to keep no mortal from ever using its power again. I suppose neither of you are mortals, and I understand that there will be no stopping you from taking it, but, tell me, O Cosmic Mother…” It fixed one large eye on Rosalina. “Do you truly not recognize what this is? Where you are?”

Rosalina swallowed, hovering nervously closer to the guardian and Pittoo—and worst of all, the artifact. She nodded, though. In a tight voice, she answered: “I do recognize this place.”

“What’s it _talking_ about?” Pittoo demanded, turning around and sending her his sulkiest glare. Even now, he acted as if he could glare answers out of her.

“Fighting me was a trial,” the guardian answered, fixing Pittoo with all six of its eyes. “To destroy or deter anyone who got this far, and, for good reason. That artifact is dangerous.”

“Just why we need it,” Pittoo replied.

“No, I think we’ve come far enough,” Rosalina argued, floating towards him again. “It’s time to go back. We’ll leave it here.”

She pulled out her wand and waved it over Pittoo. With a sharp flap of his wings, he darted away from her before she could finish the transportation bubble. He snarled.

“Excuse me!?” he laughed. There was a gleam in his eyes she didn’t like. “You expect me to give up _now?_ After we’ve worked so hard to find this thing, to find us a weapon that could defeat the Enemy!” Before she could stop him, he reached over and plucked the rapier out of the air. “This is what we wanted, isn’t it!?” he demanded, holding it out to her.

Rosalina looked down at it, mouth curling in distaste. She looked back up at Pittoo. His eyes were wide with a frantic anger, and now that he was holding the artifact—she swallowed. Took a deep breath.

“No,” she answered, firmly. “And if I’d known the legends would lead us here, I never would have helped you get this far. I’m sorry, Pittoo. Put it back.”

Pittoo stared at her a long moment. Something worked behind his eyes. Finally, he moved the rapier to his side, sliding it through his belt, and scoffed.

“Whatever,” he said.

He leapt into the air, and started flapping his wings. Normally, Rosalina would have to gift him the power of flight, but now… The rapier glowed, and Pittoo’s wings resonated with the same power. He took to the sky, flying upwards, and out of the one-way barrier that protected the hole in the ceiling.

Rosalina watched with a growing pit in her stomach. What had she done…?

“I do not fault you, O Cosmic Mother,” the guardian told her. Its eyes narrowed with pity. “The same would have happened to anyone who got that close to it, and you had no way of knowing sooner. I just suppose I should have eaten him…”

Rosalina was not sure whether or not to laugh. The death of a friend was not something to laugh over, but a bitter laugh would be fitting for this situation. She just sighed instead. The guardian may not have blamed her, but in many ways, it was her fault.

“Don’t worry, I’ll bring the weapon back to you,” she promised. “I don’t think he’ll cause too much harm with it right away. It will be fine.”

The guardian nodded, looking reassured. Rosalina just wish she could be, as well, and that she did not have to lie to ease anyone’s worries. Pittoo was already a dangerous force when he wasn’t working with anyone, and now that he had one of the most powerful evil artifacts in the cosmos? There was no telling what he would do.

She just had to hope he would not go to the Enemy.

Thankfully, he might just be stubborn enough not to.


End file.
